Villa Medicea di Lilliano

You know what struck me first about Villa Medicea di Lilliano? The fact that it’s actually a real Medici villa – not some hotel trying to sound fancy with a historical name. This place has been around since the 1400s, and honestly, you can feel it the moment you walk through those massive wooden doors. It sits on Via Lilliano e Meoli in Grassina, which is sort of perfectly positioned if you ask me. You’re about 20 minutes from Florence’s centro storico, but far enough out that you wake up to actual birdsong instead of Vespa engines revving at 7 AM.

The villa itself is surrounded by these incredible gardens that smell like lavender and rosemary – especially in the early morning when the staff is setting up breakfast on the terrace. I mean, the rooms are lovely (mine had original frescoed ceilings that made me feel slightly guilty about watching Netflix), but it’s really the grounds that make this place special. There’s this whole network of walking paths through olive groves, and if you’re into that sort of thing, you can actually watch them harvest the olives in late October. The pool area is tucked away behind some cypress trees, so it feels private even when the hotel’s full – which it tends to be during wedding season since apparently this is a pretty popular spot for ceremonies.

What I really appreciated was how the staff actually knows the area. When I asked about getting to the Mercato Centrale, the guy at reception didn’t just hand me a tourist map – he told me which bus to catch from the stop near the tabacchi down the hill, and mentioned that Thursday mornings are less crowded. Parking is free and easy, which is honestly a huge relief if you’ve ever tried to navigate Florence with a rental car. The Wi-Fi works well (I had some work calls), and the breakfast spread is solid – lots of local stuff, including this incredible pecorino that I’m pretty sure came from somewhere within a 10-mile radius. One small thing: the rooms can get a bit warm in summer afternoons since it’s an old building, but they provide fans and the evenings cool down nicely. With a 9.2 rating, you’d expect it to be perfect, and while it’s not flawless, it’s got that authentic Tuscan charm that’s getting harder to find these days.